"God gives us some things, as the beginning of faith, even when we do not pray. Other things, such as perseverance, he has only provided for those who pray."

St Augustine

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"He who wishes to be perfectly obeyed, should give but few orders."

St Philip Neri

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"The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse. In prosperity, even sinners find it easy to unite themselves to the divine will; but it takes saints to unite themselves to God's will when things go wrong and are painful to self-love. Our conduct in such instances is the measure of our love of God."

37. We must obviously conclude from what I have just said:
First, that Mary received from God a far-reaching
dominion over the souls of the elect. Otherwise she could not
make her dwelling-place in them as God the Father has ordered
her to do, and she could not conceive them, nourish them, and
bring them forth to eternal life as their mother. She could
not have them for her inheritance and her possession and form
them in Jesus and Jesus in them. She could not implant in their
heart the roots of her virtues, nor be the inseparable
associate of the Holy Spirit in all these works of grace. None
of these things, I repeat, could she do unless she had
received from the Almighty rights and authority over their
souls. For God, having given her power over his only-begotten
and natural Son, also gave her power over his adopted children
- not only in what concerns their body - which would be of
little account - but also in what concerns their soul.

38. Mary is the Queen of heaven and earth by grace as Jesus
is king by nature and by conquest. But as the kingdom of Jesus
Christ exists primarily in the heart or interior of man,
according to the words of the Gospel, "The kingdom of God is
within you", so the kingdom of the Blessed Virgin is
principally in the interior of man, that is, in his soul. It
is principally in souls that she is glorified with her Son
more than in any visible creature. So we may call her, as the
saints do, Queen of our hearts.

39. Secondly, we must conclude that, being necessary to God
by a necessity which is called "hypothetical", (that is,
because God so willed it), the Blessed Virgin is all the more
necessary for men to attain their final end. Consequently we
must not place devotion to her on the same level as devotion
to the other saints as if it were merely something optional.

40. The pious and learned Jesuit, Suarez, Justus Lipsius, a
devout and erudite theologian of Louvain, and many others have
proved incontestably that devotion to our Blessed Lady is
necessary to attain salvation. This they show from the
teaching of the Fathers, notably St. Augustine, St. Ephrem,
deacon of Edessa, St. Cyril of Jerusalem, St. Germanus of
Constantinople, St. John Damascene, St. Anselm, St. Bernard,
St. Bernardine, St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure. Even according
to Oecolampadius and other heretics, lack of esteem and love
for the Virgin Mary is an infallible sign of God's
disapproval. On the other hand, to be entirely and genuinely
devoted to her is a sure sign of God's approval.

41. The types and texts of the Old and New Testaments prove
the truth of this, the opinions and examples of the saints
confirm it, and reason and experience teach and demonstrate
it. Even the devil and his followers, forced by the evidence
of the truth, were frequently obliged against their will to
admit it. For brevity's sake, I shall quote one only of the
many passages which I have collected from the Fathers and
Doctors of the Church to support this truth. "Devotion to you,
O Blessed Virgin, is a means of salvation which God gives to
those whom he wishes to save" (St. John Damascene).

42. I could tell many stories in evidence of what I have just
said.
(1) One is recorded in the chronicles of St. Francis. The
saint saw in ecstasy an immense ladder reaching to heaven, at
the top of which stood the Blessed Virgin. This is the ladder,
he was told, by which we must all go to heaven.
(2) There is another related in the Chronicles of St.
Dominic. Near Carcassonne, where St. Dominic was preaching the
Rosary, there was an unfortunate heretic who was possessed by
a multitude of devils. These evil spirits to their confusion
were compelled at the command of our Lady to confess many
great and consoling truths concerning devotion to her. They
did this so clearly and forcibly that, however weak our
devotion to our Lady may be, we cannot read this authentic
story containing such an unwilling tribute paid by the devils
to devotion to our Lady without shedding tears of joy.

43. If devotion to the Blessed Virgin is necessary for all
men simply to work out their salvation, it is even more
necessary for those who are called to a special perfection. I
do not believe that anyone can acquire intimate union with our
Lord and perfect fidelity to the Holy Spirit without a very
close union with the most Blessed Virgin and an absolute
dependence on her support.

44. Mary alone found grace before God without the help of any
other creature. All those who have since found grace before
God have found it only through her. She was full of grace when
she was greeted by the Archangel Gabriel and was filled with
grace to overflowing by the Holy Spirit when he so
mysteriously overshadowed her. From day to day, from moment to
moment, she increased so much this twofold plenitude that she
attained an immense and inconceivable degree of grace. So much
so, that the Almighty made her the sole custodian of his
treasures and the sole dispenser of his graces. She can now
ennoble, exalt and enrich all she chooses. She can lead them
along the narrow path to heaven and guide them through the
narrow gate to life. She can give a royal throne, sceptre and
crown to whom she wishes. Jesus is always and everywhere the
fruit and Son of Mary and Mary is everywhere the genuine tree
that bears that Fruit of life, the true Mother who bears that
Son.

45. To Mary alone God gave the keys of the cellars of divine
love and the ability to enter the most sublime and secret ways
of perfection, and lead others along them. Mary alone gives to
the unfortunate children of unfaithful Eve entry into that
earthly paradise where they may walk pleasantly with God and
be safely hidden from their enemies. There they can feed
without fear of death on the delicious fruit of the tree of
life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They can
drink copiously the heavenly waters of that beauteous fountain
which gushes forth in such abundance. As she is herself the
earthly paradise, that virgin and blessed land from which
sinful Adam and Eve were expelled she lets only those whom she
chooses enter her domain in order to make them saints.

46. All the rich among the people, to use an expression of
the Holy Spirit as explained by St. Bernard, all the rich
among the people will look pleadingly upon her countenance
throughout all ages and particularly as the world draws to its
end. This means that the greatest saints, those richest in
grace and virtue will be the most assiduous in praying to the
most Blessed Virgin, looking up to her as the perfect model to
imitate and as a powerful helper to assist them.

47. I said that this will happen especially towards the end
of the world, and indeed soon, because Almighty God and his
holy Mother are to raise up great saints who will surpass in
holiness most other saints as much as the cedars of Lebanon
tower above little shrubs. This has been revealed to a holy
soul whose life has been written by M. de Renty.

48. These great souls filled with grace and zeal will be
chosen to oppose the enemies of God who are raging on all
sides. They will be exceptionally devoted to the Blessed
Virgin. Illumined by her light, strengthened by her food,
guided by her spirit, supported by her arm, sheltered under
her protection, they will fight with one hand and build with
the other. With one hand they will give battle, overthrowing
and crushing heretics and their heresies, schismatics and
their schisms, idolaters and their idolatries, sinners and
their wickedness. With the other hand they will build the
temple of the true Solomon and the mystical city of God,
namely, the Blessed Virgin, who is called by the Fathers of
the Church the Temple of Solomon and the City of God . By
word and example they will draw all men to a true devotion to
her and though this will make many enemies, it will also bring
about many victories and much glory to God alone. This is what
God revealed to St. Vincent Ferrer, that outstanding apostle
of his day, as he has amply shown in one of his works.
This seems to have been foretold by the Holy Spirit in
Psalm 58: "The Lord will reign in Jacob and all the ends of
the earth. They will be converted towards evening and they
will be as hungry as dogs and they will go around the city to
find something to eat." This city around which men will roam
at the end of the world seeking conversion and the appeasement
of the hunger they have for justice is the most Blessed
Virgin, who is called by the Holy Spirit the City of God .